Jan. 27, 2023: Is there an RNC shocker in the making?

The Playbook Podcast

POLITICO

Daily News, Politics, Government, News

4.2 • 614 Ratings

🗓️ 27 January 2023

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Later this morning, RNC members here at a five-star resort on the Pacific Ocean will pile into a private conference room and elect the organization’s next chair after a weekslong, bitter campaign pitting incumbent Ronna McDaniel against top challenger Harmeet Dhillon. While McDaniel remains the favorite, Dhillon’s team has been working overtime since they arrived, and there are unmistakable signs she’s made headway. Just days ago, she had fewer than 30 of the 168 RNC members publicly endorsing her compared to more than 100 who had backed McDaniel in an open letter after the midterms. The race’s new fluidity comes as members wrangle with one big question in increasingly urgent tones: What does this race say about Donald Trump's hold on the GOP? Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletter

Transcript

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0:00.0	Presented by Amazon.
0:02.0	Hey there, Playbookers. I'm Ragu Munovalin, the RNC, the lex its next chair today, plus a couple races in Congress start to heat up.
0:13.1	Here are the big things we're tracking on Friday, January 27th.
0:18.0	Our Representative George Santos' days in Congress numbered Politicoes, Sarah Ferris and
0:23.6	Ali Mutnick report this morning. Both Republicans and Democrats in his district are drawing
0:29.5	up plans for who should run to replace him, either in a special election if he resigns,
0:35.2	or in 2024. Dems are pursuing former Representative Tom Swazi. Other
0:40.3	possibilities include Robert Zimmerman, Anna Kaplan, or John Kamen. On the GOP side, though the
0:46.5	National Party hasn't abandoned Santos, local groups are already buzzing about Jack Martins,
0:51.7	Andrea Katzimatidis, Elaine Phillips, or Alison Esposoto,
0:55.9	among others. On the Hill, Santos isn't really making friends. Litigas Olivia Beavers reports this
1:02.3	morning. During conversations with a dozen House Republicans, a picture emerged of a Santos,
1:08.0	who's more reserved among his colleagues than his recent spotlight-seeking
1:12.0	suggests, holding friendly conversations here and there, without directly cultivating many allies.
1:17.9	Members often remarked they had no idea who he spends time with, but it certainly isn't them.
1:24.0	The California Senate race is already heating up. Some progressives are attacking Representative
1:29.9	Adam Schiff for his role during the Trump impeachments, and their citing a familiar source.
1:36.1	Playbook's own Rachel Bade's book, unchecked, with Karen Demersion.
1:40.2	The Progressive Change Campaign committees, Adam Green, said in a statement,
1:44.3	When we should have gone big against Trump, shifts said go small.
1:47.5	When we should have gone fast, shift said go slow.
1:51.0	And President Joe Biden's department heads have been remarkably steady during his first two years.
	...

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